1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to enzyme-containing detergent compositions and, more specifically, it relates to enzyme-containing detergent compositions suitable for use, as laundry detergents, in washing fabrics or clothes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various kinds of soiled portions in fabrics or clothes are heretofore washed with common detergent compositions. However, these soiled portions are, for example, classified as follows:
(i) Mud adhered to infant play clothes.
(ii) Soiled spots or stains derived from sweat or a combination of sweat and mud.
(iii) Soiled spots or stains derived from food such as edible oils, soy source, starches and the like.
(iv) Soiled spots or stains derived from secretions such as blood, pus, urine, excrements and the like.
(v) Soiled spots or stains derived from mechanical oils, or a combination of mechanical oils and iron filings, iron rust and the like.
(vi) Soiled spots derived from a combination of sebum (or smegma) from human skin, a slight amount of sweat and invisible fine dust in the air.
The detergency of detergent compositions largely depends upon the above mentioned kinds of soiled spots to be washed. In this regard although a certain type of detergent composition may exhibit strong detergency against one kind of soiled spots, it may not exhibit good detergency against another kind of soiled spots. This phenomenon is common in the art. For this reason, it is not unusual that even detergent compositions known to have strong detergency do not exhibit good detergency against all kinds of soiled spots.
The addition of enzymes into detergent compositions is known in the art to improve the detergency thereof. Such enzyme-containing detergent compositions are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,519,379 3,600,319, 3,627,680, 3,627,683, 3,635,828, 3,658,727, 3,664,961 and 3,707,505. However, these prior arts do not teach the technique by which the effect of the enzyme can be fully and effectively utilized. Since the effect of the enzyme is not fully and effectively utilized in the conventional enzyme-containing detergents, it is desired to fully utilize the effect of the enzyme in the enzyme-containing detergent composition.